Threat to Block Debate on Guns Appears to Fade in Senate

WASHINGTON — Several Senate Republicans said Tuesday that they would not participate in a filibuster of the first major gun control bill since 1993, as Democrats appeared on the verge of overcoming a blockade threatened by a group of conservatives before a word of debate on the measure was uttered.

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said he would schedule an initial showdown vote for Thursday. If backers of the measure can corral at least 60 votes, the Senate will begin consideration of a series of gun safety proposals — strongly supported by President Obama — that would still face a long and difficult journey across the Senate floor.

The bill, which would increase penalties for illegal gun purchase and greatly expand background checks on gun buyers, would again need 60 votes to end the ensuing debate after consideration of contentious amendments, including a renewal of the assault weapons ban. Should it cross that very high hurdle, 51 votes would be needed to get to final passage. Even with Democrats controlling 55 seats, no majority was assured given the resistance of some Democrats from more conservative states who face re-election campaigns next year.

Even as Mr. Reid scheduled a vote, Senators Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, and Patrick J. Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania were very near a deal that would most likely serve as an amendment replacing the background check piece of the measure that Mr. Reid is seeking a vote on. Their measure, which would almost certainly appeal to a broader base of members than the one now at the heart of the debate, would include fewer gun buyers in newly expanded checks, but allow for the record keeping that many Republicans have opposed. The two were expected to announce a deal Wednesday. Mr. Manchin briefed Mr. Reid late Tuesday.

Still, eking out the first 60 votes would represent momentum for the bill’s supporters in the Senate, and an egg-on-the-face moment for those Republican senators, led by some younger conservatives, who chose to highlight their efforts to kill the bill before debate, a procedural move usually done more stealthily.

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Senator Joe Manchin III and a colleague were working on an amendment for the gun bill.Credit
Doug Mills/The New York Times

“We’re moving forward on this bill,” said Mr. Reid, who earlier Tuesday invoked his own father’s suicide by gunshot to implore consideration of the legislation. “The American people deserve a vote on this legislation.”

Senate Republicans began splintering Tuesday on whether the bill should be allowed full consideration on the floor, with nearly a dozen, including Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Susan Collins of Maine, Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, saying they would support a procedural motion to take up the legislation formally for debate and amendments.

“There’s not very much ambivalence on Capitol Hill about the gun issue,” Mr. Isakson said. “You’re on one side or the other, so there’s no reason not to go ahead and vote.”

The dynamic potentially sets scores of Democrats who staunchly support new gun control measures against moderates from their own party. Many of those members are up for re-election next year and would rather not see the bill move forward.

Mr. Reid’s decision to forge ahead came as lobbying on gun control stepped up on Capitol Hill, with the families of those killed in Newtown, Conn., four months ago fanning out across the Senate to appeal to lawmakers to vote for legislation to expand background checks for gun buyers and limit the size of magazines.

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“I think we bring a face to this tragedy,” said Mark Barden, whose son Daniel was among the 20 children killed at Newtown. The parents were reluctant to discuss whom they had met with, though according to several Senate Democrats, it was largely members from their party.

“We’re encouraged and arranged meetings, whenever possible, with Republicans and Democrats,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. “Some of my colleagues were more welcoming than others.”

The decision by some Senate Republicans to abandon the filibuster on what is formally known as a motion to proceed came less than 24 hours after Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, announced his support for the filibuster, resulting in a rare show of disunity among Senate Republicans.

Thirteen senators, led by a core of younger conservatives, had vowed to try to block any legislation that they saw as infringing on the constitutional right to bear arms.

“There’s an irony to the calls for ‘let’s have debate.’ We are having debate right now,” said Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas and one of the original authors of the letter declaring an intent to filibuster. “And the reason why I and others have written to the majority leader and said we will insist on a 60-vote threshold is to safeguard the Bill of Rights. The Constitution is our founding document, and it protects the rights of Americans even when the passions of the moment intrude.”

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Republicans have voted to block debate on bills scores of times over the last few years. But they usually do so without bragging. The favorable attention put on Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, for his 13-hour filibuster this year on John O. Brennan’s nomination to be C.I.A. director seemed to change Republican thinking on the tactic. Lawmakers issued news releases and boasted about their efforts to block debate on the gun bill despite some popular provisions. The campaign, appeared to backfire as it drew attention to what some view as a distasteful way of killing bills before they enjoy a robust debate.

Many senators in both parties hoped for a compromise to emerge from the offices of Mr. Toomey and Mr. Manchin. Ms. Collins said she had spoken several times with Mr. Manchin and was pleased that the new language would exempt from background checks the sale or exchange of guns between family members. Further, while many members will still resist any new legislation, some Republicans may be harder pressed to stand against a measure with Mr. Toomey’s imprimatur.

Under the measure, records of gun sales would be kept, but Ms. Collins said she was satisfied that those records could in no way be compiled into a national gun registry, a fear gun rights groups have been voicing.

While advocates of the gun bill appeared on the edge of the 60 votes they will need to break a filibuster, the count remained close.

Many Republicans — and some Democrats — appeared solidly on the fence over whether to let the bill proceed. “I want to see what’s in the bill,” said Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio. “If it is an infringement on Second Amendment rights, many of us would want to block it.”

Others seemed to be ready to move ahead, only to vote against the bill at the end of debate.

Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, a member of the Republican leadership, indicated he, too, was leaning toward voting for taking up the legislation on Thursday, although he left open the chances of a filibuster at the end of the legislative fight.

“My general sense is we’re better off to debate these bills,” Mr. Blunt said, “and you always have the 60-vote standard as to whether to go to the final vote or not.”

A version of this article appears in print on April 10, 2013, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Threat to Block Debate on Guns Appears to Fade. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe